Chapter 41 - Crazy Train
Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul Amber sat watching the scenery go by through the train window. On one side was a cliff face that reached up into the sky, and the other was an opened rocky plain with Creaghurst City in the distance. It was almost four in the afternoon, and her butt had started to hurt from sitting on the train’s wooden seats all day. The group had started early enough; Rift had knocked on their door before the sun was up, and they arrived at the train station just as they finished loading cargo. Soon they had split up into different cars and went on their way; the trap was set. Fortunately for Amber, though unfortunately for her boredom, the first trip was completely uneventful. The train headed to the mine, then departed again for a two-hour journey into what looked like a factory. Another two-hour trip back, and they began prepping for the second run of the day. This too passed uneventfully, as did the return trip, and they where now on their third run, the only one that was scheduled to head out of the area. The second time they got back, Shelly pulled Amber aside and declared that it would be her last attempt; after this, weather they found anything or not, she'd be going home. Amber couldn't blame her; the boredom was unbearable. The team was spread across five different passenger cars for the first trip, so she didn't even have anyone to talk too. They doubled up for the second and third trip, but she was paired with Axel, who did nothing but groan and hold his stomach. There where no cabins on the train either, just rows of seats. And despite sitting on opposite ends of the car, Amber had to listen to him complaining the whole way. Amber shuffled uncomfortably in her seat again, trying in vain to get comfortable. She'd tried everything; laying down, putting her feet up, even sitting on the floor. But there was no getting around it, she was sick of sitting on her butt all day. A particularly loud bang drew her attention to the roof. It was a loud ride, so noises where quite common, but it sounded like something had just landed on top of the car. Several of the car's other occupants looked up as well, adding to Amber's suspicion. The train began around a bend, causing everything to sway to the left. It was now that she saw it; through the window on the roof of another car a few back from hers. Someone was standing on the roof. She jumped to her feet and headed to the back of the car. This had to be something, she hadn't seen a building for almost an hour, and they where no where close to their destination. She threw open the door, only to walk right into a man's muscular chest. "Now, now..." Amber was roughly shoved back, but managed to catch herself on the third row of seats away from the door. "Let's not do anything hasty." A muscular man with no shirt stepped into the cabin, and Amber took another step back. He was huge, almost as big as the guild master, with short blond hair and a well-kept mustache. A red, jagged toothed smile was tattooed in the center of his chest, with fangs dripping blood. "Now then, this should go without saying, but your co-operation is a must." Three more men stepped around the first, and the train's occupants all sunk into their seats. Amber backed away as one of them approached her, holding out a bag. "Valuables in the bag, lady." He ordered. The muscular man began to laugh, watching the train's occupants slowly drop whatever they had on them into the bags. He stopped abruptly when one of Axel's moans filled the cabin, finding him laying on the seat next to the door they had entered through "Oh my, what's this now?" He spoke like he was having a casual conversation, almost in a joyful tone. He grabbed Axel be the scruff of his neck, half lifting him off the seat. "Think you can just ignore the mighty Jasper Manon, do you?" Amber was about to strike, when she heard a door open and Shelly's voice fill the cabin. "Duck Amber!" She didn't wait for an explanation, sinking to the ground and covering her ears as the bandits turned to investigate. "Pict Magic: Cannon!" Shelly slapped a piece of paper onto the floor of the car, and a large gun spring into existence. There was a bright flash, and a bright light raced through the train car. It exploded at the other end, filling the cabin with smoke, but suddenly there was a harsh whistling noise and the smoke was sucked out a hole in the side of the car. The massive Jasper had deflected the shot with the back of his fist, still holding Axel. "My, my, how interesting." "Armeria!" Amber jumped to her feet and charged, catching her familiar as she took the form of a sword in her hands. She charged at Jasper the moment the smoke cleared, hoping for a surprise attack. No such luck. Jasper let go of Axel and swung his opened hand at Amber, slapping her aside and straight through the hole in the cabin. "Amber!" Shelly's cry was the last thing she heard before the sound of whistling wind drowned out everything else. "Armeria: King Shield!" Before hitting the ground, Amber tucked into a ball, holding her sword underneath her. It instantly reshaped into a flat, tear drop shaped shield with Amber resting on top. It skipped over the rocks a few times, before raising into the air and out of harm. She looked back the second she could get her bearings, gliding along the outside of the train. "Dammit..." She mumbled, getting back to her feet. She couldn't match the speed of the train; even after regaining her balance the best she could do was watch her car slowly drift away. She banked right and stepped onto the train a few cars back from hers, jabbing the bladed end of her shield into the roof to secure herself. She took a moment to rest, and only now realised how sore her shoulder was. That Jasper guy could really pack a punch. A hatch a few feet behind her provided Amber access to the inside of the train again, dropping down into a crowd of concerned looking passengers. She ran past them and their barrage of questions and into the next car, the one Shelly had been riding in. A handful of passengers where grouped around the other door, no doubt watching the fight in the next car. "Move!" Amber ordered, half pushing her way past them. One among them seemed to understand her intentions, and the moment Armeria began to transform again, he yanked the door open for her. "Bee Knives!" Shelly hopped behind one of the seats as a flurry of glowing yellow knives streaked through the train car. All three bandits fell to the ground, each littered with shallow knife cuts. The leader however, Jasper, remained standing, surrounded by a soft magic glow. He tucked his head into his arms and hunched down, his stance resembling that of a boxer. Amber's knives simply bounced off his skin, each ringing out with a loud clanging sound like he was made of metal. Suddenly, Jasper charged. Amber and the passengers around her all fled as he crashed through into the next car. He stood up straight only half way through the car however, brushing the splintered wood off his shoulders. "Hmm... Didn't I deal with you already?" "Solid Script: Flames!" A bright orange flash emanated from behind Jasper, followed by an intense heatwave. The man roared and clutched at his back, and through the fire, Amber could see Shelly on the far end of the car. "Hold onto something!" Trusting she had a plan, Amber latched onto the nearest seat, and Shelly yanked on a lever next to the door. An ear-piercing screech echoed through the cabin as the emergency breaks grabbed onto the train wheels. Everyone was thrown off balance, and the flames where extinguished when Jasper flopped onto his back. Nobody stayed upright as the train slid to a halt, not even Shelly despite clinging to the emergency break lever. Slowly, people began to rise again, the first of which being Jasper. "Little brat..." He mumbled, cracking his knuckles. "That kind of stung a bit." "I know." Shelly said confidently. "Energy attacks work against your kind of magic. I've seen it before." She had a confident smile, something that only seemed to annoy the muscular man. "All I needed to do was stop the train from moving." Snorting in disapproval, Jasper began to approach. Just as Amber was about to attack again, she heard Zeke yell behind her. "Get'em Axel!" A bright blue flash lit up the cabin, and Axel rocketed out from behind one of the splintered seats. "Lightning Dragon's Horn!" He tackled Jasper head first, square in the chest, sending electricity flying in every direction. Jasper went rigid, caught completely off guard. "Damn... It!" He grunted and swung his massive fist into side of Axel's head, launching him out the hole in the side of the car just like he had done to Amber. He didn't recover nearly as well this time though, looking somewhat dazed even after Axel's electricity faded away. The blow seemed to affect his judgment as well, as he completely forgot about the girls and jumped out of the train. "Damn punk, you dare attack the mighty Jasper Mannon?" Amber sprung to her feet the second she could. She didn't want to just leave the rest of the fight to Axel, she wanted payback. "Armeria: King's Shield!" The knives littered around the cabin an jumped into the air an began mashing together, forming the same blue shield Amber had glided back to the train on. She hopped out of the train just a moment before Axel ran at him with his fist drawn back. "Lightning Dragon's Fist!" His knuckles connected with the side of Jasper's jaw, spinning him back to face the train. He swung back, hitting Axel square in the nose. As he was thrown away, Axel opened his hand and a jolt of electricity jumped off his palm, blasting Jasper square in the face. In a daze, he had no time to react when Amber swung the flat part of her shield like a bat right into his forehead. All three of them crashed to the ground, through Amber rolled with the momentum and was the first one to get back on her feet. Jasper lay in the dirt, next to the glowing hot wheels of the train. She waited a moment for him get up again, but he just stayed still. He was already out cold. "We did it!" Shelly cheered, starting a victory cry throughout the cabin from the passengers. She sprung out of the train herself after a moment, followed closely by Zeke who landed on her shoulder. The two of them went to Amber first, and Shelly smiled the second she saw she was ok. They turned to their third companion next, and Shelly recoiled when they saw the state of him. Axel's shirt was covered in blood, as was his chin and lower lip. "Man..." He complained, whipping his hand in the dirt. "I think he broke my nose..." "A-are... Are you ok?" Shelly asked, finding it hard to look at him. He nodded at first, but when another handful of blood spilled onto the ground, he shook his head. "Hey guys!" They all turned to see Geno running towards them, skidding to a halt when he got close enough. "Hey, me and..." He stopped the second he noticed Axel. Not as disturbed as Shelly was, but still concerned. "The hell happened to you?" "This..." He started, kicking Jasper in the shoulder. "Asshole used me as a punching bag." "Damn... That's rough." He seemed sympathetic, but Amber noticed a slight curve in the corner of his mouth that assured her he found it a little funny. "Well, I think we rounded up the rest of 'em. Rift is just pulling the last of them off the roof." "D-did someone call the police?" Shelly asked, trying to keep herself from looking at Axel again. "Yeah, and the Magic Council too." Geno nodded, inspecting the huge hole in the side of the passenger car. "Speaking of, who pulled the emergency break?" "Shelly did." Zeke said, pointing at her. "Axel was still sick when the bag guys showed up." Geno looked at him again, finally looking like he'd got his bleeding nose under control. "And he recovered that fast?" "Pretty much." Amber nodded, wondering if they should be getting a doctor for Axel's nose. "So sue me..." He moaned, holding his nose and finally getting to his feet. "If I'd known we'd be doing nothing but riding the train all day, I'd have stayed home." "Yeah..." Shelly mumbled under her breath, glancing at Amber. "Me too." "Where's Rift?" Zeke asked. "Clearing up the bad guys." Geno shrugged, watching as the other passengers began disembarking. "Apparently one of the freight cars had a big pile of ore in it, the stuff they use to make Lacrima. Worth quite a lot to the right buyer." Amber took a look around, but it was apparent that Shelly was the only one that cared about the reason for the attack. "So..." She started, not wanting to jinx it. After all, Jaina and the guild master seemed adamant that it would be a difficult job. "That's it then?" "Looks that way." Geno shrugged again, sounding a little disappointed. "I think this is the easiest job the Council's ever handed out." ---- The police arrived almost twenty minutes later; a rag tag group that looked more like mercenaries than officers. Their first order of business was to make sure all of the passengers where alright, and sectioned them off under a large tent. Amber and the others got similar treatment, though they where kept a little closer to the scene. Rift did most of the talking, away from the others, but one by one an officer came around to collect statements from them all. They began loading up the bandits in the only carnage they had; and special care was taken once Jasper began to stir again. "I think he uses Palm magic." Shelly exclaimed to one of the officers as they led him away. "He's the one who damaged the train in the middle of the fight." The officer thanked her for the warning, then continued on. Standing close by, Amber nudged her with her elbow. "Wasn't that kind of your fault?" "No!" She shook her head adamantly, but after a second look at the damage, changed her tune. "Ok, maybe a little..." "Hey Shelly?" Rift called to them once he finished explaining what they where doing there to the officers. "Might want to give your dad a call. Let everyone know you're alright." Shelly puffed out her cheeks at the mere mention of her family; it seemed like something she'd never get over. "Why? I'm fine." "Because Jaina's still got an old Lacrima scanner stashed somewhere." He said, gesturing to a radio hanging of one of the officer's belts. "She might already know what's going on, so it might be better to call him before they call you." Shelly opened her mouth to make an argument, but the change in her expression seemed to denote that she understood completely. "Fine..." She sighed, beginning to dig through her bag. As she walked off to talk in private, Rift approached Amber. "So... Seeing as how you where first on the scene, anything you want to add?" Not paying attention at first, it took Amber a moment to process what he had said. "Add to what?" "The report." He thumbed over his shoulder at a trio of officers talking to the train conductor. "It sucks, but council jobs are like that. You need to have a record for everything, no detail left out." Taking a moment to think, nothing came to mind. In truth, Amber hadn't been paying much attention to the reports. When it was her turn to give a statement, all she said was that they where attacked and fought back. The officer seemed content, so she left it alone. "I don't know." Flashing his trademark grin, Rift said. "Fair enough." He half turned to leave, before catching himself on the tent pole and saying. "So... Who really blew up the train car?" "Um..." She thought a moment, wondering of she should stay quiet about that particular detail. In the end through, she decided to tell the truth. "Shelly did." Rift began to chuckle. "Thought so." Amber turned her head to the side in confusion. "How do you know?" "You've met Terra, right?" He began. "Loud, friendly, talks kind of funny?" Amber nodded, snickering at his description of her. "Well, her and this Jasper guy use the same magic. It's called Palm magic; real good for a fight, but it's kind of a one trick pony. You smash stuff, that's about it. Now that?" Rift gestured to the train again, looking more amused the further into his explanation he got. "That was an explosion." "I... I see." It made sense, in a weird sort of way. It certainly explained how Shelly knew exactly what to do. It also gave her a bit of perspective; for someone as innocent looking as Shelly to have that kind of firepower, it suppressed her that she hadn't noticed before. "Does she blow stuff up a lot?" "There've been times. Her aim wasn't always as good as it is today." Rift said again. "Remember, her dad's a guild master. So inherently she could be like, a total ass kicker." Amber began to chuckle; that image just wouldn't fit in her head. One of the officers called to him, and Rift's grin finally disappeared. "Damn... They're going to keep us here all day..." Amber watched him walk away, but again decided to stay behind. Rift hadn't really done much on this job, or the last one for that matter, so it only seemed fair that he took care of this part. It was at this time that Shelly returned, with Zeke hanging off her shoulder. "Hi Amber!" He called, jumping up on top of Shelly's head. "Did we miss anything?" "No." Amber shook her head. "How're thing's at home?" "Fine. They didn't know about any of this yet, but dad was happy that I called." Shelly shrugged, trying her best not to sound annoyed. "We might have a problem though. I just heard one of the officers talking to Axel; they're going to cancel all departures for the rest of the day." Amber quickly looked back at the train car with the hole in it. "Why? There're other trains, aren't there?" While sharing in her disappointment, Shelly still shook her head. "Apparently, they have to completely shut down any time there's an incident like this." Amber drooped her shoulders. Staying here for another night definitely wasn't that high on her priority list. She really wanted some time to herself to just... Well, not do anything. Didn't matter who asked, the second she got home she was going to stay there for at least a week. "Well, it's just one more night. The job is already done, isn't it?" Zeke hopped off Shelly's head and wings unfolded from his back just before he hit the ground. "Yeah. C'mon Shelly, what's the worst that could happen?" Breathing a heavy sigh, Shelly finally looked up again with a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Next Chapter – No Vacancy Category:Chapter Category:Chapters Category:Storyline Category:Paths of the Soul